


Angel Food Cake

by DarthUmbreon (SperoDeoVolente)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, F/F, Fluff, Romance, alternative universe, sad past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 00:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13154976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SperoDeoVolente/pseuds/DarthUmbreon
Summary: Mei lost everything in a tragic accident one year ago. As she visits the memorial built for her dead coworkers one year later a stranger comes into her life with cheesy pickup lines.





	Angel Food Cake

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays Marshmallow!

Mei-Ling Zhou hugged her knees tight against her chest. She sobbed, her head buried tight against her arms. Snowball beeped sadly and pressed lightly against her side. Today marked exactly one year since the accident in Antarctica. It had been hard adjusting after she had been rescued. After all those fatalities, all the funding for her research had been yanked. No one wanted to risk more people dying. No one understood that her research helped learn ways to save people from dying! No one understood that everyone accepted the dangers, that they knew what they could die. Mei, her coworkers, they all knew they could die at any time, but what they were doing was more important. They manned the last research station in Antarctica, collecting data on the changing weather. What they learned was vital for learning the causes of sudden, drastic weather change! Instead, all the governments in the UN voted to shut down the research center and have it dismantled.  
  
Didn’t they know how important that place was? It meant the world to her! Mei-Ling had gone to college with the knowledge she would end up a researcher in Antarctica. All of her life had been dedicated to that dream. Mei had poured her whole adult life into researching climate change in Antarctica! No one seemed to care it was her dream, that it had been her everything. Now, she had nothing. Mei had no living blood relatives. All of the scientists at the research center had become her friends, then her family. Now she had no family, no friends, no job, she had nothing left but Snowball. After the rescue, she had been granted a tiny stipend to compensate for her dedication and hard work. Mei thought it was an insult, but she took it to survive. There were no other places hiring scientists. Her Ph.D. meant nothing to the places she applied too, she was overqualified. That stipend was barely enough to make her bills and pay for some basic foodstuff. It didn’t make up for her lost friends, destroyed dream, and the pain in her heart.  
  
Today she had gone to the memorial site dedicated to her former research team. There hadn’t been enough remains left to recover, so instead of graves, there was a memorial erected in their honor. It was a large glass spire with their names etched into the glass. Each name was lightly frosted and opaque. A large copper plaque was at the base explaining what the memorial stood for. Mei didn’t like it. She wanted her family, her job, she wanted things to be different. Her hands had set down the bouquet of white and yellow Chrysanthemums against the base of the spire. Her knees had gone weak, and she dropped to the ground. Snowball helped her curl up into a ball. Her body shook and she couldn’t stop sobbing.  
  
“Are you okay?” A concerned voice boomed out from above and a large hand lightly touched her shoulder.  
  
“Ahhhh,” Mei gasped. “Don’t touch me!” Her voice came out an in a shriek as she instinctively punched the person. Her hand connected with a solid wall of muscle and started to sting. Mei jerked and jumped up to her feet. Her eyes looked up and up to see the most beautiful, pink haired woman. Whoever this woman was standing several heads taller than Mei. They stared at each other for a moment in awkward, painful silence. Something about her looked familiar like Mei had seen her before.  
  
“Nice shot!” The pink haired woman gave her a wide grin. “I am Aleksandra Zaryanova. My friends call me Zarya.”  
  
“I’m Mei-Ling Zhou. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Mei bowed deeply, her face hot. Her brain didn’t want to work, it felt scrambled by how close she was to Aleksandra. Then she recognized the name and her mind went blank with panic. “You’re the Russian weightlifting Olympic champion! I just punched you! I’m sorry Zaryanova! Sorry, sorry, sorry!”  
  
“Do not worry about it. I know of others who punch when startled. It was a nice, solid hit. I’m sorry I scared you. Please, call me Zarya.” Zarya replied with a shrug. One of her hands went behind her head and her feet shuffled slightly.  
  
“You can call me Mei,” Mei answered back, her face still hot. A hesitant smile slowly crossed her face. “It’s a pleasure meeting you. I used to watch your matches.”  
  
“Ah, you are a fan of mine? I have a question. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” Zarya asks her voice rising slightly on the last sentence.  
  
“Haha,” Mei laughs and shakes her head slightly. Snowball flies around Zarya with a loud beep before resting above Mei’s left shoulder with a glare on its screen. “I’m a fan, yes. I didn’t think anyone actually used such cheesy pickup lines!”  
  
“I don’t flirt often in English. My best ones are in Russian. They don’t translate well.” Zarya replies and the hand she had been resting against the back of her skull drops to her side. She glances away, her face finally turning as bright red. “You are very cute. I have strong urge to hug away the tears.”  
  
“I think getting a hug from you would be like getting one from a big, fuzzy Siberian bear!” Mei exclaims as she feels butterflies burst to life in her stomach. No one has ever flirted with her before and… she gulps down a lump lodged in her throat. Zarya is very attractive. Tall, muscular, and very pretty.  
  
“I am not fuzzy! But, is that a yes?” Zarya looks at Mei with a hopeful look.  
  
“It’s a maybe,” Mei answers back with a smile. Her stomach growls loudly, and the smile drops from her face. “I should get going.”  
  
“Ah! Wait! I know of a good bakery. It has Angel Food Cake almost as sweet as you.” Zarya delivers the line with a more level tone. Her eyes are bright and hopeful, fully focused on Mei.  
  
“I can’t. I’m allergic to gluten and nuts. Most baked goods make me very ill.” Mei replies with a sigh. Her shoulders drop. That had been her largest hurdle to getting a job as a researcher in Antarctica, her allergies. She had to sign over a dozen waivers about it. The butterflies die off and a heavy lump of emotions sinks to the bottom of her gut.  
  
“In that case, I know of a different bakery. It only sells gluten-free, vegan-friendly goods. It is very tasty. My uncle has celiac disease. When he visits from Mother Russia, it is where I take him.” Zarya says with a slight grin. “I would like to take you on a date.”  
  
“Where I go, Snowball follows. We’re a package deal. Also, I’m more like Devil’s Food Cake then Angel’s Food Cake.” Mei speaks without thinking. Her mouth drops open at her brazen flirting. Both of her hands go over her mouth and a string of muffled, sorry, sorry, sorry barely escapes. Snowball makes digital eyes to roll and lets out another disgruntled beep.  
  
“Excellent. We should go on date now, yes? Maybe afterward, I can hug you like big, fuzzy Siberian bear.” Zarya speaks with a smile and holds out a hand for Mei to take.  
  
Mei takes Zarya’s hand, it completely covers hers. She feels safe and protected in a way she hasn’t for over a year. Perhaps, she has something new to look forward too.

**Author's Note:**

> So far this is a one-shot gift fic for a friend ^^;


End file.
